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Help Stop Mental Health Stigma: Arm Yourself With Knowledge

April 23, 2017 Leif Gregersen

stigma can be stopped when you arm yourself with knowledge and fight the myths at every turn

It is important to arm yourself with knowledge so you can fight mental health stigma whenever you encounter it. You may be seeking this knowledge for many reasons: for yourself, for a family member, or for people you work around or interact with who have a mental illness. By seeking knowledge on mental health, you can stop stigmatizing beliefs on the spot when you encounter people who have misunderstandings or believe mental health myths. By arming yourself with knowledge, you can help stop mental health stigma.

Stop Mental Health Stigma with Accurate Knowledge

The first and most essential thing you can do to stop mental health stigma is to talk about it. Talking about mental health doesn't always mean opening up about your illness when you are not comfortable. It can mean simply seeking out accurate knowledge about mental health and mental illness.

Many people have false ideas that lead to stigma towards people with mental illnesses. One of the biggest myths about mental illness is that those who suffer from mental illnesses are violent. I learned early on in my treatment from a public information session that people with mental illnesses are rarely violent and are no more violent than the general public. Further, when most people with mental illnesses are violent, they are more likely to harm themselves through self-injury or suicide attempts. If you can open a dialogue with more people about stigma, you can pass this knowledge on and help stop stigma and ignorance about mental illness.

Gain Knowledge Through Classes and Books to Stop Mental Health Stigma

Some of the ways you can gain knowledge about mental illness and stop mental health stigma are to engage in open conversations with those who suffer and those who treat mental illness. There are also numerous agencies that can offer informational classes. I took a class put on by The Schizophrenia Society in my area, and also attended one with my parents put on by our regional mental health authority. These classes helped change my mind about my hopes for the future and made me feel more comfortable around other people who have a mental illness.

The classes opened my eyes to the fact that many others suffer from mental health stigma. Knowledge is power and sufferers have published many books in regards to the lives of people with mental illnesses that can help you gain the knowledge to fight stigma.

APA Reference
Gregersen, L. (2017, April 23). Help Stop Mental Health Stigma: Arm Yourself With Knowledge, HealthyPlace. Retrieved on 2024, April 18 from https://www.healthyplace.com/blogs/survivingmentalhealthstigma/2017/04/help-stop-mental-health-stigma-arm-yourself-with-knowledge



Author: Leif Gregersen

dr.Musli Ferati
April, 29 2017 at 3:42 am

This inscription indicates mindful and useful approach on this stubborn and harassment hindrance of current psychiatric treatment and management of mental pathology, such is stigma on mental health/illnesses. Despite epochal achievements of psychiatric researches the clinical daily psychiatric treatment is facing wit many visible and unmatched difficulties throughout psychiatric treatment. The main obstacle of comprehensive psychiatric treatment of people with mental disorders are numerous irrational and primitive outlooks of social environment toward psychiatric patients. Adequate and substantial information of real nature of mental function and its disorders is the first and crucial step to their professional treatment. It is genuine affinity of each clinical psychiatrist to give appropriate knowledge on mental apparatus as predictor of global welfare in respective social network, when pertain person live and work. Endurance of different prejudices toward person with mental problems exhibits serious handicap to satisfaction psychiatric management of psychiatric patients. Therefore the functional explanation of mental function is the hopeful contribute to mentally ill patients, their family and their community.. It signify to be more accessible and understanding to common opinion on mental health and its daily deviations. Otherwise, the miserable situation of mentally ill patient wouldn't improve, against numerous achievement of neuroscience in the field of mental disorders. Functional and effective promotion of mental health in community indicates crucial step and help to overcome stigma on mental health today everywhere and at any time. In this noble and engaged duty the role and place of clinical psychiatrist is principal. But without support of others formal and informal social factors it will be insufficient and of temporary effects.

Dr Musli Ferati
April, 29 2017 at 2:32 am

Excellent and powerful inscription on this stubborn and ominous aspect of current psychiatric treatment and management of mental disorders. Despite epochal acknowledgement about mental pathology, daily professional treatment of patient with mental difficulties is facing with many social paradigms such are inconvenient prejudices toward people with mental disorders. In addition, stigma to psychiatric patient is extended to family of mentally ill patient and to institutions of mental health care. These and others visible and unsparing hindrance from public opinion toward mental illnesses, seriously damage and worsening comprehensive psychiatric treatment people with mental disorders. Professional recognition and Knowledge on real nature of mental disorders indicates crucial step to ameliorate successfully the fate of numerous psychiatric patients. So, it ought to undertake more and more effort to eradicate primitive attitude and misinterprets on mental health/ disorder, as whole complex biopsychosocial investigation and conception. The first step is to explain in understanding and simple way the enigma on daily mental function of everyone in respective social environment. Perfect and innocent person is in want of common social life. But total incapable man didn't exist anywhere and in any time. Indeed, we all walk amidst these two extreme humane life performances. The sublime intention of up to date psychiatric treatment is to improve global life functioning of every subject of community. This hopeful aim of psychiatric management of mental pathology should be promote and affirm throughout clinical psychiatric practice. In contrary the prognosiss and definitive course of any psychiatric entity would be evil with irreversible consequences for itself mentally ill patient and with its family and social network, as well.

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